Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-m789k Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-09T15:25:59.199Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

15 - Building a hydrogen infrastructure in the USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2010

By
Joan Ogden  and
Christopher Yang
Edited by
Michael Ball  and
Martin Wietschel
Michael Ball
Affiliation:
Shell, The Netherlands
Martin Wietschel
Affiliation:
Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Karlsruhe, Germany
Get access

Summary

While the previous chapter addressed the build-up of a hydrogen infrastructure in Europe, this chapter focuses on implementing a hydrogen infrastructure in the USA, where, over the last decade, the vision of hydrogen as a future transportation fuel has gained remarkable momentum.

Introduction – transportation-energy context in the USA

A large part of primary energy use, greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollution in the United States comes from direct combustion of fuels for transportation and heating. Reducing emissions and energy use from this multitude of dispersed sources (250 million vehicles and perhaps 100 million households and businesses) will mean replacing today's cars and heating systems with higher efficiency, low-emission models, and, ultimately, adopting new fuels that can be produced cleanly and efficiently from diverse sources. This is particularly crucial for transportation, where the number of light-duty passenger vehicles could grow 50% by 2050, and where 97% of fuel comes from petroleum, 60% of which is imported into the United States.

A variety of alternative fuels, including LPG, CNG, ethanol, methanol, as well as electricity, have been implemented on a small scale in the USA, but with limited success – the total number of alternative fuelled vehicles remains less than 1% of the total fleet (Davis and Diegel, 2007). The largest alternative fuel used in the USA is ethanol derived from corn, which is currently blended with gasoline up to 10% by volume in some regions, and accounts for 3% of US transportation energy use.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Hydrogen Economy
Opportunities and Challenges
 , pp. 454 - 481
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Burns, L. D., McCormick, J. B. and Borroni-Bird, C. E. (2002). Vehicle of change. Scientific American, 287 (4), 64–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, S. C. and Diegel, S. W. (2007). Transportation Energy Data Book. 26th edn. Oak Ridge National Laboratory.Google Scholar
Dooley, J. J., Dahowski, R. T., Davidson, C. L.et al. (2005). A CO2 Storage Supply Curve for North America and its Implications for the Deployment of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Systems. Joint Global Change Research Institute, University of Maryland.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greene, D., Leiby, P. and Bowman, D. (2007). Integrated Analysis of Market Transformation Scenarios with HyTrans. Oak Ridge National Laboratory Report, ORNL/TM-2007/094.CrossRef
Gronich, S. (2006). Hydrogen & FCV Implementation Scenarios, 2010–2025. Presentation at the USDOE Hydrogen Transition Analysis Workshop, Washington, DC, August 9–10, 2006. www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/analysis/scenario_analysis_mtg.html.Google Scholar
,IEA (International Energy Agency) (2005). Prospects for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells. IEA Energy Technology Analysis Series. Paris: OECD/IEA.
,JEC (Joint Research Centre, EUCAR, CONCAWE) (2007). Well-to-Wheels Analysis of Future Automotive Fuels and Powertrains in the European Context. Well-to-Wheels Report, Version 2c. http://ies.jrc.ec.europa.eu/wtw.html.
Johnson, N., Yang, C. and Ogden, J. (2006). Build-out Scenarios for Implementing a Regional Hydrogen Infrastructure. Presented at the National Hydrogen Association meeting, Long Beach, CA, March 11–16, 2006.Google Scholar
Joseck, F. and Kapoun, K. (2007). Fuel Pathways Integration Technical Team. Presentation at the USDOE Hydrogen Analysis Deep Dive meeting, San Antonio, TX, March 22, 2007.Google Scholar
Kalhammer, F. R., Kopf, B. M., Swan, D. H., Roan, V. P. and Walsh, M. P. (2007). Status and Prospects for Zero Emissions Vehicle Technology. Report of the ARB Independent Expert Panel 2007. Prepared for State of California Air Resources Board Sacramento, California. www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/zevprog/zevreview/zev_panel_report.pdf.Google Scholar
Kromer, M. A. and Heywood, J. B. (2007). Electric Powertrains: Opportunities and Challenges in the US Light-Duty Vehicle Fleet. MIT Report. LFEE 2007–02 RP.Google Scholar
Lin, Z., Chen, C.-W., Ogden, J. and Fan, Y. (2008). The least-cost hydrogen for Southern California. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 33 (12), 3009–3014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDowall, W. and Eames, M. (2006). Forecasts, scenarios, backcasts and roadmaps to the hydrogen economy: a review of hydrogen futures literature. Energy Policy, 34 (11), 1236–1250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melaina, M. W. (2007). Turn of the century refueling: a review of innovations in early gasoline refueling methods and analogies for hydrogen. Energy Policy, 35 (10), 4919–4934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melendez, M. (2007). Geographically Based Hydrogen Demand & Infrastructure Roll-out Scenario Analysis. Presented at the 2010–2025 Scenario Analysis for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles and Infrastructure, January 31, 2007, Washington, DC. www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/analysis/pdfs/scenario_analysis_melendez1_07.pdf.Google Scholar
Nicholas, M. A., Handy, S. L. and Sperling, D. (2004). Using geographic information systems to evaluate siting and networks of hydrogen stations. Transportation Research Record, 1880, 126–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicholas, M. A. and Ogden, J. (2007) Detailed analysis of urban station siting for California Hydrogen Highway Network. Transportation Research Record 2006, 1983, 129–139.Google Scholar
,NRC (National Research Council), Committee on Alternatives and Strategies for Future Hydrogen Production and Use (2004). The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities, Costs, Barriers, and R&D Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Ogden, J. M. (2002). Modeling infrastructure for a fossil hydrogen energy system with CO2 sequestration. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT6), October, 2002, Kyoto, Japan.Google Scholar
Parker, N. (2007). Optimizing the Design of Biomass Hydrogen Supply Chains Using Real-World Spatial Distributions: A Case Study Using California Rice Straw. Master's thesis. University of California, Davis.Google Scholar
Paster, M. (2006). Hydrogen Delivery Options and Issues. Presented at the USDOE Hydrogen Transition Analysis Workshop, Washington, DC, August 9–10, 2006.Google Scholar
Plotkin, S. (2007). Examining Hydrogen Transitions. Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory. Report No. ANL-07/09.CrossRef
Ritchey, S. (2008). The Role of Hydrogen in Oil Refining and Implications for Fueling Hydrogen Vehicles. Master's thesis, University of California, Davis.Google Scholar
Romm, J. (2004). The Hype About Hydrogen. Island Press.Google Scholar
Singh, M., Vyas, A. and Steiner, E. (2003). VISION Model: Description of Model Used to Estimate the Impact of Highway Vehicle Technologies and Fuels on Energy Use and Carbon Emissions to 2050. Center for Transportation Research. Argonne National Laboratory Report. ANL/ESD/04–1.Google Scholar
Singh, M., Moore, J. and Shadis, W. (2005). Hydrogen Demand, Production, and Cost by Region to 2050. Argonne National Laboratory Report. ANL/ESD/05–2.CrossRef
,USDOE (United States Department of Energy) (2006). Hydrogen Posture Plan. An Integrated Research, Development and Demonstration Plan, December 2006. www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/hydrogen_posture_plan_dec06.pdf.
,USDOE (United States Department of Energy) (2007a). Annual Energy Outlook 2007 with Projections to 2030. Energy Information Administration. www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/gas.html.
,USDOE (United States Department of Energy) (2007b). Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies Program Website; H2A Analysis Tools. www.hydrogen.energy.gov/h2a_analysis.html.
Vidas, H. (2007). Natural Gas Infrastructure Requirements for Hydrogen Production. Energy and Environmental Analysis. Presentation at the USDOE Hydrogen Analysis Deep Dive meeting. San Antonio, TX, March 22, 2007.Google Scholar
Walsh, M. E., Perlack, R. L., Turhollow, A.et al. (1999). Biomass Feedstock Availability in the United States: 1999 State Level Analysis. Knoxville, TV: Oak Ridge National Laboratory.Google Scholar
Wang, M. (2005). Well-to-Wheels Analysis with the GREET Model. Argonne National Laboratory. Presentation at the 2005 DOE Hydrogen Program Review, May 26, 2005.
Yang, C. and Ogden, J. (2007a). Determining the lowest-cost hydrogen delivery mode. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 32(2), 268–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, C. and Ogden, J. (2007b). US Urban Hydrogen Infrastructure Costs Using the Steady State City Hydrogen Infrastructure System Model (SSCHISM). Presented at the 2007 National Hydrogen Association Meeting, San Antonio, TX, March 18–22, 2007. A beta copy of the model is posted on Christopher Yang's website at UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies: www.its.ucdavis.edu/people.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×